Mark DeRosa perfectly articulated the tension the Cardinals feel this season

The St. Louis Cardinals have looked like two different teams this season, alternating between ice cold and sizzling hot stretches. Their most recent span of games has shown what the team could be, but even that has them playing at a .500 level and in the race in a mediocre NL Central. The Cardinals appear to be in a little bit of organizational purgatory: not good enough to make a playoff run, but not bad enough to fully tank, while also undergoing leadership changes at the end of this season.

With an interesting mix of established veterans, solid arbitration players, and a combination of exciting and disappointing young pieces, it is tough for the organization and fans to decide what the outcome for the 2025 season should be. Early in the offseason, it appeared that everyone was on the same wavelength and expected a sell-off of those expensive yet valuable trade pieces. Since then, though, the lack of activity and middling performance has turned into a near 50/50 split if they should stand pat with the team they have or fully commit to the reset before Chaim Bloom takes over.

MLB Network analyst and USA Baseball manager Mark DeRosa feels the Cardinals roster is stuck in neutral.

After the Cardinals swept the Pirates behind dazzling pitching performances by Matthew Liberatore and Sonny Gray, the team found themselves back at .500 and in third place in the NL Central. The sweep gave the Cardinals four straight series wins and they have seen an offensive outburst from Alec Burleson, Willson Contreras, and Masyn Winn that should breed some excitement among fans. However, this stretch also makes their 2025 season even more confusing and puts leadership in an awkward position to decide if they should make one last push in John Mozeliak's final year or see what the current crop of talent can do and, along with some expiring contract trades, set Bloom up for a clean slate takeover in the offseason.

Former Cardinal and current MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa agrees that this team is in a precarious spot and has pieces that can either put them into contention in the division or be traded to set up a quick reset period. In a recent segment on MLB Central, DeRosa argued both sides of this equation but ultimately settled on calling the team "a confusing bunch... they have pieces teams are gonna want to need." He mentions guys like Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, and Ryan Helsley as obvious trade pieces but then also mentions that Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan are superstars that the team should prioritize as building blocks.

Gray is an interesting topic, as he has been a quality starter for the Cardinals and is off to a nice start again this season. In the offseason, it was reported that he was uninterested in waiving his no-trade clause, and it does not seem as if any discussions about that have happened since then. An obvious trade candidate from the rotation, though, is Erick Fedde, who seemed likely to be dealt in the winter but remains in St. Louis as a mid-rotation starter who could help provide some depth to many teams around the league. The question is, though, if the Cardinals are in the mix, do they see Fedde as someone they want to deal with a lack of depth beyond Michael McGreevy waiting in Memphis? Miles Mikolas has been decent this season, but he is expensive for the value he provides, and an acquiring team would be hesitant to give up too much for a lower-tier arm.

Arenado will continue to be mentioned in trade rumors for the entirety of the season until the team either outright says he is not going anywhere or he is traded. It seemed that he was as good as out multiple times this offseason, but he also remains in St. Louis as a main cog in the middle of the order and has again flashed his elite defensive abilities. The Red Sox seemed like a likely match again when Triston Casas went down for the year, but with Alex Bregman playing at All-Star levels and Rafael Devers refusing to play a position, those talks may cool quickly. A bigger hurdle to clear for Arenado is his no-trade clause and short list of teams he would be willing to be sent to. A trade of Arenado would be a signal that the Cardinals are going full reset, so they would have to be out of the race or be overwhelmed by the deal to get it done.

I would think that Helsley would be the most likely piece to be dealt, as he is on an expiring deal and has had a track record of success as a lockdown closer. The Cardinals' interesting season has created an even more interesting usage pattern for Helsley, which could be hurting his market value until the team makes a decision on his future. There have been rumors of teams being linked to the Cardinals' closer, including a recent proposal from Jim Bowden, but the market has yet to warm up for established relievers for contending clubs.

To the second part of DeRosa's comments, the Cardinals do indeed have intriguing young pieces that could make the reset process go smoothly. Nootbaar has unlocked another level as the primary leadoff man, while Donovan has continued to show his value as the three-hitter and quality defensive piece at multiple positions. Beyond those two, Masyn Winn and Victor Scott II have been exciting at times this season, while Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, and Gordon Graceffo have flashed as potential pieces for a quality pitching staff in the future. If the Cardinals want to add to their roster for a division push, they would have to deal from the veteran group or pull the plug on some of their prospects to receive more of a sure thing for their contention window. With Ivan Herrera returning from his rehab assignment, the lineup construction gets a little more confusing and could result in lost playing time for some of the Cardinals' struggling youngsters.

Regardless of the direction the Cardinals decide to go, we probably will not receive much clarity on that decision for the near future. The team has shown potential to be good and is currently on one of those exciting runs, but when it is going poorly, the baseball is truly tough to watch.